Archive for the ‘Author Profile’ Category

Materials Advances 2024 Paper Prize runner-up

01 Aug 2024

Meet some of the authors

Fabrication of low-cost and flexible perovskite solar cells by slot-die coating for indoor applications

Cristina Teixeira, Rosinda Fuentes-Pineda, Luísa Andrade, Adélio Mendes and Dávid Forgács

Cristina’s research goal is to advance the lab-to-fab transition of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). During her PhD (2018-2023) at the company SAULE Technologies (Poland), in collaboration with the University of Porto (Portugal), she helped launch the world’s first pilot line for PSCs and achieved a world-record 25.4% efficiency for a flexible PSC with a graphitic back-contact under indoor lighting. In 2024, she won an MSCA postdoc fellowship and continues her work at CENIMAT|i3N at NOVA University of Lisbon. She holds one patent, three trade secrets, and five high-impact articles as 1st author.

David’s career started at Fraunhofer-ISE during his Master’s, where he researched organic photovoltaics. After authoring some high-impact research articles during his PhD in Valencia and getting hands-on experience on upscaling techniques at Opvius, he joined Saule – a back then 15 people start-up – to commercialize printed perovskite photovoltaics. He was leading the intellectual property and the indoor PV business development at the company. In early 2024 he started Nexunite Ltd. as the CEO and founder, helping to secure European grant funding for research entities, start-ups and SMEs.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

Dávid Forgács: Indoor PV has a huge potential yet to be unlocked. It’s also exciting, as many aspects to consider are different from traditional PV, making the topic rather unique.

How do you feel about Materials Advances as a place to publish research on this topic?

Dávid Forgács: The experience has been great so far, and it seems the audience is adequate for our research

Can you share one piece of career-related advice for early career scientists?

Dávid Forgács: Make sure you research and understand the IP policy of the institution you are working for, and that you have a basic understanding of patenting. One successful application may set you up for life, and bring a lot of opportunities.

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Materials Advances 2024 Paper Prize runner-up

01 Aug 2024

Meet some of the authors of the runner-up paper

Evaluation of techniques used for visualisation of hydrogel morphology and determination of pore size distributions

Imanda Jayawardena, Petri Turunen, Bruna Cambraia Garms, Alan Rowan, Simon Corrie and Lisbeth Grøndahl

	Imanda is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Science Foundation Ireland Research Fellow at the Irish Photonics Integration Centre (IPIC). Her current research focuses on developing a bone-on-a-chip device for longitudinal osteogenesis monitoring using non-invasive, label-free, non-ionising spectroscopic techniques. Imanda’s areas of research interests include, biomaterials, biophotonics, biophysics, physical chemistry, biomedical engineering, medical devices and the broader field of health and medicine. She has prior research experience in immunochemistry, microscopic techniques, mass spectroscopy assisted proteomics, and working with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles. Imanda is also a fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) owing to her contributions towards university-level teaching.
	Dr. Bruna Cambraia Garms is a biomaterial scientist specializing in polymeric platforms for drug release systems, medical device design, and cell-material interactions. She completed her PhD at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, where she investigated new hydrogels for cancer research. Currently, as a Research Fellow in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Monash University, Australia, Dr. Garms works on a device for cardiac solutions. Dr Garms’ research interests lie in biomaterials engineering with projects aimed at addressing critical medical challenges.
	Simon Corrie completed his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering and PhD in Physical Chemistry at the University of Queensland, before undertaking postdoctoral studies at the HPV Research Laboratory at the University of Washington, Seattle (Merck Company Foundation Fellowship). After returning to Australia to develop microneedle arrays for wearable immunoassays (Smart Futures Fellowship; ARC DECRA), he joined the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at Monash University in 2016 to establish the Nanosensor Engineering Lab. His research interests lie in developing nano-particles and proteins for applications in bio-sensing and bio-assays with application in biomedicine and agriculture.
	Lisbeth Grøndahl obtained her PhD in chemistry from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and now holds a position as Professor in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences at the University of Queensland, Australia. She is a Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering and works in the interdisciplinary field of biomaterials science with a focus on development of approaches to create and comprehensively characterise functional polymeric biomaterials in the form of membranes, scaffolds, hydrogels, and nanoparticles. In 2018 she was highlighted as one of 16 women at the forefront of biointerface science research by the international journal Biointerphases.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

Petri Turunen: I am excited of working with array of advanced microscopy techniques at my disposal to support research on biomolecular and synthetic systems.

Lisbeth Grøndahl: Providing detailed guidance on material characterisation, since that allows reproducible and impactful work to be generated, not just by my research team, but more broadly.

How do you feel about Materials Advances as a place to publish research on this topic?

Petri Turunen: I think Materials Advances is a great journal to publish materials research.

Lisbeth Grøndahl: Materials Advances provides an excellent forum for publication of research into material characterisation and setting standards and communicating sound protocols.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice for early career scientists?

Petri Turunen: My advice would be not to be afraid to do lateral career moves and there are more and more alternative career paths in science for example in core facilities.

Lisbeth Grøndahl: It is through detailed evaluation of material properties that you will make ground-breaking discoveries that will have a long-lasting legacy.

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Materials Advances 2024 Paper Prize winner

01 Aug 2024

Meet some of the authors of the winning paper

Redox-active, porous pyrene tetraone dendritic polymers as cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Lucas Ueberricke, Felix Mildner, Yuquan Wu, Elisa Thauer, Tom Wickenhäuser, Wen-Shan Zhang, Yana Vaynzof, Sven M. Elbert, Rasmus R. Schröder, Rüdiger Klingeler and Michael Mastalerz

	Lucas Ueberricke studied chemistry at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany and at Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. After obtaining his B. Sc. (2013) and M.Sc. (2017), he continued with his PhD studies under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Michael Mastalerz in Heidelberg, where he graduated with summa cum laude in 2021. He then joined the group of Prof. Dr. Atsushi Wakamiya at Kyoto University, Japan, for postdoctoral research on self-assembled hole-extracting monolayers for perovskite solar cells. Since 2022 he is working as senior researcher at Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd. (NEG) in Otsu, Japan, where he is investigating crystallization phenomena in glasses.
	Felix graduated from the University Heidelberg in 2019 with an BSc in Chemistry and from Imperial College London in 2020 with an MRes in Nanomaterials. During his masters project he investigated silver spill-over at electrified solid state interfaces in the context of Memristors using ab initio methods. For his PhD, Felix is working with Prof Nicholas Harrison at Imperial College to study the design principles of high efficiency photocathode materials using ab initio methods and the quantum mechanical modelling of photoemission processes. Novel photocathode materials are necessary for the operation of next generational light sources and free electron lasers (FELs).
	Yana Vaynzof is the Chair for Emerging Electronic Technologies at the Technical University Dresden (TUD) and the director of the Institute for Emerging Electronic Technologies at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW). Yana Vaynzof is the recipient of a number of fellowships and awards, including the ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants. Her research interests lie in the field of emerging photovoltaics focusing on the study of material and device physics of organic, quantum dot and perovskite solar cells by integrating device fabrication with the application and development of advanced spectroscopic methods.
	Professor Klingeler is a Professor of experimental physics at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg. His research group focuses on correlated quantum materials, applying fundamental studies on thermodynamic response functions down to MilliKelvin temperatures and up to high magnetic fields. Their work on unconventional superconductivity, electronic nemantic order and quantum magnetism challenge standard theories, extending our understanding of quantum many-body systems.
	Professor Mastalerz has been based in the Organic Chemistry Institute at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg since 2013. His research interests cover organic porous materials, crystal engineering and self-assembly, supramolecular chemistry, and non-planar extended aromatic molecules.

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Spotlight on a Materials Advances Highly Cited Review Article

21 Feb 2024

“Selenium nanoparticles: a review on synthesis and biomedical applications”

Materials Advances publishes review articles on topics across materials science, which are open access and free to read. To celebrate our excellent review articles, we asked the authors of some of our most well-received review articles to discuss their work in more detail.

In this post, we share insights from our interview with the authors of the recently published Materials Advances review “Selenium nanoparticles: a review on synthesis and biomedical applications“.

Insights from the authors of a highly cited Materials Advances review article

What aspect of your research are you most excited about at the moment?

“Elemental selenium (Se) has great importance in the fields of physics, chemistry, and biology. Se is an important element for human requirement. The United Kingdom group of vitamins and minerals recommended the daily intake of selenium by women and men should be 60 μg and 70 μg, respectively. A daily intake of more than 400 μg could be toxic which leads to a disorder known as selenosis. Selenium plays a key role as a biochemical component of glutathione peroxidase, an enzyme responsible for the protection of essential SH-groups and for the decomposition of peroxides, thereby acting as an antioxidant. In addition to immense role in biology, selenium based nanomaterials have attracted great attention of researchers and in fact metal selenides quantum dots are key component of modern day nanotechnology. Source of selenium often is a tricky component in such materials but bio-generated selenium may become a potential step in fine tuning and biocompatible quantum dots for a range on biomedical applications.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

Availability of greener selenium source for advancement of metal selenide quantum dots and their utility in the filed of biological sciences and biomedical industries as fluorescent tags, photonic materials. Such a collection for articles and review on single element chemistry such as the current one leads to much ease of operation for the researchers and the challenge associated can be managed and handled more effectively. In my research source of selenium is still a great challenge.

What does it mean to you to have a highly cited review article?

Getting recognition for our research and scientific contribution and that too from our peers from the Royal Society is much of moment of proud for us and is very gratifying feeling. It boost the confidence and makes us more responsible for conducting impactful research in our chosen field.

How do you feel about Materials Advances as a place to publish research on this topic?

When Royal Society floated this journal almost 3-4 years ago, we were sure that like any other RSC publication, this too will fetch global standard and we were proven right when its impact factor was disclosed last year and I am very proud to be associated with such new yet highly prestigious journal. Not many get the opportunity to be part of RSC publications. I am proud of my team to have agreed with me to choose materials advances for our publications. Ever since its inception, this journal has maintained high-quality research publications and has become first choice for material science.

What is one piece of career-related advice or wisdom that you would like to share with early career scientists?

Early career researchers should avoid being part of mad-race that publishes randomly without much clarity in their goals. They should identify research problems that will impact human race globally and try to come out of pathbreaking research results. They should not hesitate to establish early collaboration for multidisciplinary research as in today’s time applied research is much in demand and making great impact

Meet the authors

Dr Pawan Khanna received his PhD in Organometallic Chemistry of Se & Te from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 1989– 90. He went to Queens’ University of Belfast and University of Wales at Swansea (UK) for his postdoctoral research in the group of Prof. Christopher P Morley during 1989–92. Later, he joined C-MET, Pune. He was awarded the BOYSCAST fellowship of DST, Govt of India during 1998–99 to work on quantum dots driven by organometallic chemistry at University of St. Andrews, Scotland (UK) with Professor David J Cole-Hamilton. He joined Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune, India (DIAT) in 2011 as its first Professor and is currently a HAG Professor and Head of the Dept. of Applied Chemistry. He has also served as dean of academic affairs at DIAT. His research interests include organometallic chemistry, materials chemistry, nano-chemistry of biological importance, quantum dots, nano-inks, nano-fluids and photo catalysis. He has published over 220 research papers. He has recently been named as the top 1% materials’ scientist in the world by a study conducted by Stanford University, USA. He has guided more than 70 masters, doctoral and post-doctoral researchers and completed 20 grant-in-aid research projects.

Neha Bisht obtained her BTech Degree in Chemical Engineering from BT Kumaon Institute of Technology (BTKIT), Dwarahat, Uttarakhand India in 2014. Continuing her studies, she received MTech Degree in Materials Science and Chemical Technology from the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune, India in the Department of Applied Chemistry in 2019, where she was a Gold medalist. During her study for her Master’s Degree, she received the All India Council Technical Education (AICTE) Fellowship through Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). She worked as a Project Assistant under the guidance of Prof. P. K. Khanna at DIAT, Pune, India. She is a life member of the ‘‘Society for Materials and Chemistry (SMC)’’, BARC, Mumbai. She is a lifetime member of ‘‘DIAT Alumni Association’’. She is currently persuing her PhD in south Korea. Her research interests include nanomaterials, hybrid nanocomposites, thermoelectric materials, metal oxides, ternary metal chalcogenides and their energy applications.

Priyanka obtained her BSc degree from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, in the year 2015. During the BSc, she received a ‘‘Promotion of Science and Education (POSE)’’ scholarship from Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of Haryana, India. Continuing her studies, she received an MSc degree in Applied Chemistry from Malaviya National Institute of Advanced Technology, Jaipur, India, in 2017. She completed her PhD under the guidance of Prof. P. K. Khanna at Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune, India in November 2023. She is a life member of ‘‘Society for Materials and Chemistry (SMC)’’, BARC, Mumbai. She has published over 12 research articles and has a patent to her credit. Her research interests include nanomaterials, quantum dots, materials chemistry and their energy applications

We congratulate the authors on their impactful work and wish them success in their future academic research!

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Spotlight on a Materials Advances Highly Cited Review Article

09 Feb 2024

“Fluorescent Schiff base sensors as a versatile tool for metal ion detection: strategies, mechanistic insights, and applications”

In this post, we share insights from our interview with the authors of the recently published Materials Advances review “Fluorescent Schiff base sensors as a versatile tool for metal ion detection: strategies, mechanistic insights, and applications”.

Insights from the authors of a highly cited Materials Advances review article

What aspect of your research are you most excited about at the moment?

“The exciting aspects of fluorescence Schiff base research lie in its potential applications, such as in sensing and imaging. Understanding how these compounds interact with different environments or molecules opens up opportunities for advancements in various fields, from medicine to materials science. Additionally, exploring novel synthesis methods and improving the efficiency of fluorescence can contribute to the development of innovative technologies.”

What do you find most challenging about your research?

“Fluorescence Schiff base research, while exciting, also presents certain challenges. Some common challenges include:
(i) Synthesis complexity
(ii) Interference from environmental factors such as pH, temperature, and the presence of other organic or inorganic species.
(iii) The real-world application of these techniques often involves complex sample matrices, like biological fluids or environmental samples, which introduces additional challenges.”

What does it mean to you to have a highly cited review article?

“Being acknowledged by colleagues in the same field for one’s work is a rewarding experience for a researcher”

How do you feel about Materials Advances as a place to publish research on this topic?

“Materials Advances has established itself as a prestigious journal within the Materials family. The platform it offers is a unique opportunity for researchers to present their latest discoveries in the field of materials science. With its consistently high-quality publications, this journal has evolved into a central hub for the advancement and dissemination of knowledge in materials science.”

What is one piece of career-related advice or wisdom that you would like to share with early career scientists?

“I recommend that early career researchers pinpoint global challenges and research gaps, dedicating their utmost efforts to address them in a meaningful way. Engage in brainstorming sessions, analyzing the What, Why, and How aspects—understand the problem, its underlying reasons, and potential solutions. Persistently pursue your aspirations, surmounting obstacles and challenges, until you can reflect with pride on your journey.”

Meet the authors

Dr Manoj Kumar Goshisht is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Govt. College Tokapal, Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India. He obtained his Master’s Degree from Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar, Haryana, and PhD Degree from Dr B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India. He has cleared the National Eligibility Test (CSIR-UGC NET) for Assistant Professor in the subject of Chemical Sciences. He is a winner of the Editors Pick Award of the “9th DST & ACS Workshop” held on 11th August 2021. His research interests include organic chemistry, materials chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, and nanomaterials. He has published various research papers in reputed international peer-reviewed journals of The American Chemical Society, The Royal Society of Chemistry, and Springer Nature. He also has a book in his account published by CRC Press (an imprint of the Taylor & Francis group).

Prof. Goutam Kumar Patra did his Ph.D. from Jadavpur University, under the supervision of Prof. Dipankar Datta at Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata. Then he joined Tel Aviv University, Israel, as a postdoctoral research fellow with Prof. Israel Goldberg (2000–2002). Subsequently he moved to Carnegie Mellon University, USA where he worked with Prof. Catalina Achim. Then he joined as Asst. Prof. in Vijoygarh Jyotish Ray College, Kolkata in December 2003. He visited Max Planck Institute of Bioinorganic Chemistry, Mülheim, Germany as a BOYSCAST fellow during 2006–07 and worked with the then Director, Prof. Karl Wieghardt. He is a Professor in Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur since 2012. His research interests include chemosensor, redox activity, azamacrocyclic chemistry, crystal engineering, porphyrin and supramolecular chemistry, peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) and free radical chemistry. So far, he has published more than hundred research papers in the journals of national and international repute.

Dr. Neetu Tripathi earned her Ph.D. from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India. She achieved first rank with a Gold medal in M.Sc. Chemistry (Instrumental Analysis) for her master’s degree. Currently, she serves as a Research Associate (RA) at DRDO, Defence Materials and Stores R&D Establishment. During her Ph.D., she received the prestigious INSPIRE fellowship from the Government of India. Dr. Tripathi has successfully cleared the National Eligibility Test (CSIR-UGC NET) for Assistant Professor and the Graduate Aptitude Test (GATE) in the subject of chemical sciences. Her research interests encompass organic chemistry, materials chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, and nanomaterials. She has contributed to various international peer-reviewed journals, including those by the Royal Society of Chemistry, Elsevier, and Springer. Additionally, Dr. Tripathi is an author of a book published by CRC Press, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group.

We congratulate the authors on their impactful work and wish them success in their future academic research!

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Spotlight on Materials Advances Highly Cited Review Article

12 Jan 2024

Recent advances in chemical recycling of polyethylene terephthalate waste into value added products for sustainable coating solutions – hope vs. hype

In this post, we share insights from our interview with Krishanu Ghosal and learn more about the authors of recently published paper Recent advances in chemical recycling of polyethylene terephthalate waste into value added products for sustainable coating solutions – hope vs. hype.

Insights from the authors of a highly cited Materials Advances review article

What aspect of your research are you most excited about at the moment?

“In this polymer age, the unprecedented escalation in the production, consumption, and disposal of post-consumer polymeric waste materials has become a critical environmental concern of paramount importance. According to a World Bank report, in 2016, the global production of plastic waste reached a staggering 242 million tonnes, constituting approximately 12% of the total solid waste generated worldwide. Historically, a significant portion of this plastic waste has been managed through methods such as landfills or incineration.

To address this escalating issue, researchers are now concentrating on the 3R (reduce, recycle, and reuse) concept of plastic products. Currently, I am specifically working on the recycling of plastic waste into value-added chemicals, which can serve as raw materials or intermediates for the creation of new materials, including novel biodegradable polymers. More precisely, my work involves developing new classes of biodegradable polymers derived from recycled polymeric materials waste focusing on biomedical and coatings applications.”

What do you find most challenging about your research?

“I feel that, the most challenging part about my research is translation of technology from lab to commercial scale. It’s common for reactions, processes, or technologies that prove effective in a lab setting to encounter significant drawbacks when implemented on an industrial scale. This challenge is particularly pronounced in the field of polymer recycling, where there has been a surge in research articles. Unfortunately, only a handful of these innovations make it to commercialization while maintaining socio-economic viability.

A noteworthy observation is the disparity between the promising laboratory results and the practical hurdles faced during industrial implementation. A recurring issue is the elevated cost of recycled raw materials compared to readily available fresh raw materials in the market, which diminishes the feasibility of recycling initiatives. Additionally, it’s imperative to consider the environmental impact of the recycling process. An ideal recycling method should not only be economically viable but also environmentally sustainable, ensuring a carbon-neutral or even negative footprint, while avoiding the generation of harmful chemicals throughout the entire process.”

What does it mean to you to have a highly cited review article?

“Receiving acknowledgment from peers in the same field is a truly gratifying experience for any researcher. It not only validates the dedication and effort invested in one’s work but also fosters a sense of professional camaraderie and shared appreciation within the research community.”

How do you feel about Materials Advances as a place to publish research on this topic?

“All of the journals of Royal Society of Chemistry’s Materials family are highly reputed among materials researchers. The Materials Advances platform offers a unique opportunity for researchers to showcase their latest findings in the dynamic field of materials science. Publishing in Materials Advances experience is really amazing. Additionally, because Materials Advances is an OA journal, the reach of the journal is broader, which attracts many researchers working in different fields of materials to read and publish in Materials Advances.”

What is one piece of career-related advice or wisdom that you would like to share with early career scientists?

“I feel that, early career researchers should choose problem statements wisely. To address these challenges, early career scientists should take the initiative and independently formulate solutions for their chosen problem statements. Engaging in discussions with fellow researchers and colleagues regarding the problem statement and potential solutions serves as a valuable process for refining and sharpening the proposed solution. This collaborative process not only hones their problem-solving skills but also cultivates critical thinking, fostering the development of well-rounded and innovative researchers.

Furthermore, I would recommend that early career scientists actively explore opportunities to translate their research into commercial applications. This initiative not only maximizes the societal impact of their work but also exposes them to the complexities and practicalities of taking scientific innovations from the lab to the market. By bridging the gap between research and commercialization, these scientists can bring out the true potential of their findings to the broader public, making a meaningful difference in the real world.”

Meet the authors

Dr Krishanu Ghosal is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Before joining Technion he worked as an Assistant Technical Manager in Shalimar Paints Ltd. He did his Ph.D at the Department of Polymer Science and Technology, University of Calcutta, with a thesis titled “Synthesis of biopolymers from recycled plastic waste and natural resources for tissue engineering applications”. He obtained his B.Sc. in Industrial Chemistry and M.Sc. in Applied Chemistry from Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Howrah, India. During his B.Sc. and M.Sc., he was actively involved in various research activities as well as industrial training. During an M.Sc. summer internship, he worked under Professor T P Radhakrishnan, School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad. There he worked on a project titled “Synthesis of ultrathin film based on poly-N-octadecylaniline based gold and silver nanoparticles using the air-solution interface”. He also worked under the guidance of Dr Atanu Bhattacharya at IISc Bangalore, completing his master’s thesis titled “Ground state decomposition mechanism of metal contained nitramine molecule”. His research interests include several diverse fields including synthesis of novel polymers, recycling of polymeric materials into value-added products, synthesis of nanomaterials and their biomedical applications, green chemistry etc.

Mr Chinmaya Nayak is currently serving as the Head of Industrial R&D in Shalimar Paints Limited. Previously he worked as a Senior Development Manager in R&D at Berger Paints India Ltd, Kolkata. He received his M.Sc. degree in Chemistry from Delhi University and his M.Tech. (Corrosion Science & Technology) from NIT-Durgapur. He has 24 years of experience in the paint industry. As a seasoned R&D professional in the paint industry, he has designed and commercialized more than 2000 formulations. Additionally, he has trained more than 100 professionals in the field of paint technology. He has been a part of numerous technical events and conferences. In addition to that, he has been actively involved in the presentation and publication of technical papers.

We congratulate the authors on their impactful work and wish them success in their future academic research!

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Materials Advances 2022 Paper Prize runner-up

11 Sep 2023

Meet the authors and find out more about their research

White light emission generated by two stacking patterns of a single organic molecular crystal
Yuma Nakagawa, Kuon Kinoshita, Megumi Kasuno, Ryo Nishimura, Masakazu Morimoto, Satoshi Yokojima, Makoto Hatakeyama, Yuki Sakamoto, Shinichiro Nakamura and Kingo Uchida

Meet the authors

	Yuma Nakagawa received his B.S. (2018), M.S. (2020), and Ph.D. (2023) degrees from Ryukoku University. He has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Molecular Engineering Institute, Shiga University of Medical Science since 2023. His current interests are development of organic functional materials and their applications.
	Kuon Kinoshita received bachelor’s degree in science and technology from Ryukoku University, Japan, in 2019 and completed master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Nottingham Trent University, UK, in 2021.
	Megumi Kasuno received her Ph D. from Kyoto Institute of Technology in 2005. She was engaged in National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and moved to the present address at Ryokoku University in 2006.
	Ryo Nishimura received his Ph. D. (2020) from Ryukoku University under the supervision of Professor Kingo Uchida. He has been working as a JSPS Young Research Fellow (PD) at Ryukoku University. From 2021, he has been working at Rikkyo University as an assistant professor.
	Masakazu Morimoto received his B.S. (2001), M.S. (2003), and Ph.D. (2006) degrees from Kyushu University. Then, he engaged as a postdoctoral researcher at the Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University. In 2007, he moved to the Department of Chemistry, Rikkyo University, as an assistant professor. He was appointed as an associate professor at the same university in 2010 and was promoted to a full professor in 2017. His research interests include the development of advanced photofunctional molecules and materials.
	Satoshi Yokojima studied physics at Keio University. After receiving PhD in 1995, he worked on optical response at University of Rochester. In 1997, he moved to University of Hong Kong and developed a method for linear scaling. After working on dissipative systems, he moved to University of Tsukuba and studied a charge transfer in DNA. He then moved to Mitsubishi Chemical in 2005 and worked on photochromic systems. He moved to Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences in 2011 and promoted to Professor in 2016. His current interests are photochemistry, computational chemistry, and biophysics.
	Makoto Hatakeyama obtained his undergraduate Bachelor and Masters degrees at the Yokohama City University in 2007 and 2009, respectively. He completed his PhD degree in 2012 at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in the group of Prof. Shinichiro Nakamura. He then undertook post-doctoral research at the RIKEN Research Cluster for Innovation. In 2018, he was appointed as a Lecturer at the Sanyo-Onoda City University. His research interests involve the quantum chemistry, molecular photophysics, and photoprotection mechanisms in biologically related molecules.
	Yuki Sakamoto received his Ph.D. from Tokyo Institute of Technology in 2018. He studies functional molecules and catalysts using theoretical calculations.
	After Ph.D. in 1984 at Universite de Strasbourg, France, Shinichiro Nakamura started industrial Computational Science in Mitsubishi Chemical Research Center for 26 years. Then, he moved to RIKEN 2011~2022, the focus is on the mechanism of natural photosynthesis. In 2022, he moved to Kumamoto University. The central subject of his research is the design of industrial photonic materials as well as studies on data science.
	Kingo Uchida received his Ph.D. from Kyushu University in 1996. He was promoted to Professor in 2002. His recent interests lie in development of photoresponsive surfaces, and biological applications.

(a) What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

We are surprised to see the white fluorescence from ordered molecular packing in the crystalline state. Photochromic diarylethenes are well-known compounds, and many papers were already published, however the oxidized derivative showed unexpected results. Studying a compound from many view points is challenging.

(b) How do you feel about Materials Advances as a place to publish research on this topic?

Materials Advances is an international gold open access journal, which makes our results freely available to a large audience of readers. This provides a very significant environment for scientists like us.

It is important to develop your original works. Careful watching and deep consideration of the results sometimes induce serendipity.

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2022 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship winner: Sahika Inal

29 Nov 2022

We are delighted to announce that Professor Sahika Inal has been selected as the winner of the Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship 2022.

The Journal of Materials Chemistry annual lectureship, established in 2010, honours early-career scientists who have made a significant contribution to the field of materials chemistry. Congratulations to Sahika!

“I am delighted to have this prestigious recognition and committed to contributing further to the materials chemistry research and the community”

Sahika Inal is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering with co-affiliations in Electrical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering programs at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). She has a B.Sc. degree in Textile Engineering from Istanbul Technical University (Turkey), an M.Sc. in Polymer Science, and a Ph.D. in Experimental Physics, both from the University of Potsdam (Germany). She completed her postdoctoral training at the Center of Microelectronics of Provence of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne (France). Her expertise is in polymer science and bioelectronic devices, particularly in the photophysics of conjugated polymers, characterization of polymer films, and the design of biosensors and actuators. Since 2016, Inal lab at KAUST exploits the functionalities of organic electronic materials, investigates ionic/electronic charge transport, and designs electronic devices that record/stimulate biological signals. Sahika is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and has received recognitions including ACS PMSE Young Investigator Award 2022, Beilby Medal and Prize 2022, 2023 WCC Rising Star (ACS), and has been shortlisted for the Nature Research Awards for Inspiring Women in Science in 2021. She is the author of 97+ publications, and her work has been cited more than 7900 times.

Twitter: @InalSahika

Group website: https://bioel.kaust.edu.sa/

Please join us in congratulating Sahika on receiving the award. To celebrate, we have put together a collection of her publications in Royal Society of Chemistry journals:

Read the collection

Our 2022 runners-up

Each year we have a large number of excellent researchers nominated for the lectureship award across Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C. To recognise the diversity of the three journals, overall community and candidates nominated each year, going forward we have decided to additionally recognise runners-up for the Journal of Materials Chemistry lectureship.

Professor Luisa Whittaker-Brooks

Luisa Whittaker-Brooks is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Utah. Her research centers on the design of well-defined hybrid materials with controlled morphology and interfaces that serve as conduits for deterministic and coherent energy and charge transfer for applications in energy conversion, storage, and electronics. Dr. Whittaker-Brooks received her B.S. degree in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Panama. Under a Fulbright Fellowship, she received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Chemistry from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University. She is the recipient of the 2013 L’Oréal Fellowship for Women in Science Award and the 2015 Marion Milligan Mason Award for Women in the Chemical Sciences administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She was named a Scialog and Cottrell Fellow by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), a Talented 12 by C&En news, and a GERA Ovshinsky Energy Fellow by the American Physical Society (APS). She is also the recipient of a Department of Energy Early Career Award, a Sloan Fellowship in Chemistry, and the Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award.

Dr Jessica Wade

Dr Jess Wade is a physicist specializing in materials science, with a focus on new materials for next-generation technologies. Jess is interested in the use of molecular chirality to control the spin of photons and electrons, and the development of advanced characterisation techniques to investigate and optimise their functional properties. Chiral functional materials are promising candidates for more efficient displays, more sensitive photodetectors and room temperature, low-cost spintronics. She is currently a Research Fellow at Imperial College London. She is committed to improving diversity in science, both online and offline, and she has led and contributed to several initiatives to engage girls in physics, chemistry, and engineering. Since the start of 2018 Jess Wade has written the Wikipedia biographies of women and people of colour scientists every single day. She has also written a children’s book on materials and nanoscience called “Nano: The Spectacular Science of the Very (Very) Small”.

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Repair and re-use of the outer casing for a Lithium-ion battery cell

19 Aug 2022

An infographic describing a new method to repair and recycle a Li-ion battery pouch

Benign solvents for recycling and re-use of a multi-layer battery pouch
Jean E. Marshall, Bethany Middleton, Dominika Gastol, Roberto Sommerville, Con R. McElroy, Emma Kendrick and Vannessa Goodship
Mater. Adv., 2022, 3, 4973-4981, DOI: 10.1039/D2MA00239F

Meet the authors

	Dr. Jean Marshall gained her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 2008, for investigating surface-initiated polymer chemistry. Her subsequent research work includes postdoctoral work on stimulus-responsive polymeric materials, as well as industrial experience in novel polymers for ink formulations. Since joining the Warwick Manufacturing Group (University of Warwick) in 2019, she has worked on several projects, covering diverse areas including tailored polymers for use in Lithium-ion batteries, polymeric materials as part of a circular economy, and recycling of battery components.
	Dominika Gastol joined University of Birmingham in 2019 and has been involved in recycling of Li-ion batteries from EV since then. Her research activities cover development of material recycling streams combined with remanufacturing, automated methods of electrode deposition and advanced microscopic characterisation.
	Rob gained a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the university of Birmingham in 2017, where he worked on producing synthetic zeolites from fly ash. Rob worked at the University of Warwick for a year on Lithium-ion battery recycling under Professor Emma Kendrick, before returning to Birmingham to join the ReLiB project in 2018. Rob Sommerville is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with a focus on reutilisation of waste and the circular economy of Lithium Ion Batteries. He is currently a Faraday Institution Research Fellow working on the ReLiB (Recycling and Reuse of Lithium Ion Batteries) project funded by the Faraday Institution, looking at physical separation techniques in the recycling of lithium-ion batteries.
	Dr Rob McElroy gained his Ph.D in 2007 at Keele University working on the production of composite materials from copolymers incorporating renewable resources. In 2009 he joined Prof. Pietro Tundo’s Carbonate Chemistry Group at Ca Foscari University of Venice looking into applications of dialkyl carbonates. He joined the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, University of York as a PDRA in 2011 and has worked on a variety of projects including extraction and separation in supercritical CO2, greening of pharmaceutical chemistry, production of bio-derived polymers, production of bio-derived surfactants, running an industry facing club focusing on circular economy related research called RenewChem, development of new green solvents and solvent applications. His current role is looking at green solvents in electrode formulation and as deputy director of the Circa Renewable Chemistry Institute.
	Following 14 years working in industry as a plastic engineer, Dr. Vannessa Goodship joined WMG, University of Warwick in 1997. She gained a PhD in 2002 on multi-material injection moulding and has continued working across multiple sectors on polymer related topics at the academic and industry interface.
	Prof Emma Kendrick is Professor of Energy Materials, lead of the Energy Materials Group (EMG) in the School of Metallurgy and Materials and co-director of the Centre for Energy Storage (BCES) at the University of Birmingham (UoB). Her research focus is upon sustainable energy storage technologies, the objective to understand the science and engineering principles which underpin manufacturing and lifetime. Before UoB, she spent two years as Reader in WMG, University of Warwick, and before academia, she led innovations in the battery industry. Latterly as Chief Technologist in Energy Storage at SHARP Laboratories of Europe Ltd (SLE) and prior to that for two highly innovative lithium-ion battery SMEs, Fife Batteries Ltd and Surion Energy Ltd. She completed her PhD in Ceramics at Ceram Research and Keele University, MSc in New Materials at University of Aberdeen, and BSC in chemistry from the University of Manchester.

An interview with Dr. Jean Marshall:

a) What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

I am currently gaining a lot of new knowledge about how lithium-ion batteries work and how complex they are as chemical systems. The electrochemistry of batteries is not necessarily an obvious area for a polymer chemist, but batteries are enormously complicated and there is a lot of scope for experimenting with novel materials in this area. The most difficult challenge here is deciding which research question to tackle first!

b) How do you feel about Materials Advances as a place to publish research on this topic?

Materials Advances is an excellent ‘home’ for our work. Open access publishing is great for us as academics and publishing with an RSC journal lends articles good credibility.

c) Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Some researchers prefer to have laser-focus on one niche subject, and that’s definitely the approach that’s encouraged for gaining a PhD. However, in my ‘postdoctoral life’ I’ve definitely found that the most productive projects are really collaborative. So, my advice is to collaborate with as many people as possible, and make sure that they aren’t all in your direct field of research. The more people you talk to, the more you can bounce ideas around, and you’ll find yourself with far more new avenues to explore.

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Low processing temperature for phosphate glass composites

14 Jun 2022

An infographic highlighting a new hydrated phosphate glass composite

Novel optical amorphous phosphate materials with a low melting temperature
Simon Kaser, Théo Guérineau, Clément Strutynski, Reda Zaki, Marc Dussauze, Etienne Durand, Sandra H. Messaddeq, Sylvain Danto, Younès Messaddeq and Thierry Cardinal
Mater. Adv., 2022, 3, 4600-4607, DOI: 10.1039/D1MA00995H

Meet the authors

Simon Kaser obtained a Materials Engineer degree in 2018 from INP-ENSIACET (Toulouse, France). He has been a PhD student since 2018, between Université de Bordeaux (Bordeaux, France) & Université Laval (Québec, Canada), with research focusing on 3D printing of phosphate glasses by Fused Deposition Modeling and the development of low-Tg phosphate glasses for this purpose.

(a) What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

I like the fact that my research focuses on relatively unexplored but rapidly expanding fields, such as glass 3D-printing. Not having much information on the subject from the literature and not knowing what is worth pursuing or not can be frustrating, but the satisfaction that comes from finally finding results makes all these efforts worthwhile.

b. Why did you choose Materials Advances as a place to publish research on this topic?

It feels important to me that any research work is available to the broadest audience, which is possible thanks to Open Access journals such as Materials Advances.

c. Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Do not be afraid to ask for help from senior researchers, their expertise and experience can only be beneficial to your own work.

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Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

Archive for the ‘Author Profile’ Category

Materials Advances 2024 Paper Prize runner-up

Meet some of the authors

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

How do you feel about Materials Advances as a place to publish research on this topic?

Can you share one piece of career-related advice for early career scientists?

Materials Advances 2024 Paper Prize runner-up

Meet some of the authors of the runner-up paper

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

How do you feel about Materials Advances as a place to publish research on this topic?

Can you share one piece of career-related advice for early career scientists?

Materials Advances 2024 Paper Prize winner

Meet some of the authors of the winning paper

Spotlight on a Materials Advances Highly Cited Review Article

“Selenium nanoparticles: a review on synthesis and biomedical applications”

Insights from the authors of a highly cited Materials Advances review article

Meet the authors

Spotlight on a Materials Advances Highly Cited Review Article

“Fluorescent Schiff base sensors as a versatile tool for metal ion detection: strategies, mechanistic insights, and applications”

Insights from the authors of a highly cited Materials Advances review article

Meet the authors

Spotlight on Materials Advances Highly Cited Review Article

Recent advances in chemical recycling of polyethylene terephthalate waste into value added products for sustainable coating solutions – hope vs. hype

Insights from the authors of a highly cited Materials Advances review article

Meet the authors

Materials Advances 2022 Paper Prize runner-up

Meet the authors and find out more about their research

Meet the authors

2022 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship winner: Sahika Inal

Repair and re-use of the outer casing for a Lithium-ion battery cell

An infographic describing a new method to repair and recycle a Li-ion battery pouch

Meet the authors

Low processing temperature for phosphate glass composites

An infographic highlighting a new hydrated phosphate glass composite

Meet the authors

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